1. Field of the Invention
Example embodiments of the invention relate to touch panels including touch sensing structures directly provided on phase retardation layers and/or polarization plates, and display devices having touch panels including touch sensing structures.
2. Description of the Related Art
A touch screen panel (TSP) employed in a display device such as an organic light emitting display (OLED) device or a liquid crystal display (LCD) device may generally recognize a contact position by the hand of a user or an object though touch sensors thereof. A recent display device may usually include such touch screen panel attached to a display panel.
The conventional touch panel may include indium tin oxide (ITO) patterns, a phase retardation layer, a polarization layer and adhesion layers so as to achieve relatively high optical transmittance thereof. For example, Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2011-0039088 discloses a touch panel that has adhesion layers, conductive films (patterned ITO layers) serving as touch sensors, a phase retardation layer and a polarization plate, which is disposed on a display panel. However, the conventional touch panel includes the polarization plate, the phase retardation plate, a base film and the touch sensors separately stacked on the display panel, so that the conventional touch panel may not have a small thickness. Thus, the conventional display device may not ensure a desired slim thickness. Further, the manufacturing costs for the conventional display device may be increased and also the yield of the manufacturing processes for the conventional display device may be reduced.